Literature Walking Tour | Small or Private Group LPL

What bookworm wouldn’t drop everything for a chance to stroll past the very cafés where Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald met for cocktails? Or to locate the hotel where Oscar Wilde cleverly quipped from his death bead: “This hideous wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death—either it goes, or I do!”

Get ready to travel back to a time when Paris was the muse for some of the most genius literary minds. Draw inspiration from the Left Bank’s quaint streets, café terraces, and romantic hum of Parisian life just like your idols did back in the day. You’re in for a treat because the Latin Quarter and Saint-Germain district haven’t changed much at all, providing a glimpse into the glory days of great literature.

Who better to guide you than one of our passionate French literary experts? They’ve taken the time to seek out those mythic spots where the pulse of these geniuses still beats on. Turn back a few pages in history and revisit some of the literary VIPs who left their mark on Paris: the Romantics of the 19th century, the Lost Generation between the World Wars, and the Beat Generation of the ‘50s and ‘60s to name a few.

Complete the experience with a free coffee break in a typical Left Bank café, offering a chance to chat with your knowledgeable guide and share great novel recommendations. Keep your wallet in your pocket—this caffeine boost is on us!

Itinerary of the tour:

You will meet the guide outside the legendary Café de Flore, located in the neighborhood of Saint Germain-des-Prés. You will walk in the direction of the Left bank where the intellectual personalities of the Lost Generation used to meet each other, such as Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway or F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Then you will visit the Hotel where Oscar Wilde died and you will stroll through the quaint cobbled streets of Saint Germain-des-Prés. Your guide will show you the places where Benjamin Franklin and Voltaire liked to have philosophical debates.

You will keep on rambling towards the Odéon and discover where Silvia Beach created The Shakespeare Company which became a legendary bookstore and an artistic heaven. You will pass by the world-known La Sorbonne University where Sartre taught existentialist philosophy. You will explore the Latin Quarter with the Panthéon which houses the tombs of Victor Hugo, Dumas and Voltaire. Behind this monument you will see the preferred places of Hemingway and Joyce that inspired the famous Woody Allen movie “Midnight in Paris”.

The tour will end by visiting the stunning Shakespeare and Company bookshop. This ancient medieval monastery contains numerous English-language books. Your guide will tell you about the amazing history of the place. You will experience a great moment upstairs by discovering a captivating literary atmosphere.